


Knight

by machinea



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-23
Updated: 2016-11-23
Packaged: 2018-09-01 17:38:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8632360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/machinea/pseuds/machinea
Summary: A prince by any other name will still always be a prince.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the Rosicrucian cards.
> 
> ( ˙ᗜ˙)(･̆-･̆ )
> 
> ✿[machi](https://twitter.com/yosegizaiku)

"Hahaha, this is marvelous!"

He watched with exasperated eyes as Wataru danced around, the metal suit of armor blinding him with each turn.

"I have to thank the metal works club for their brilliant work!" He twirled again, flares of light bouncing all over the room. "They made me a shining knight in armor, here to save the day! Hoho!" He slid the sword out from its sheath, jabbing and cutting the air with it in excitement.

Tomoya did his own turning, only away from the man in annoyance. _As if anyone would want to be saved by you_ , he quietly thought to himself, huffing out a sigh. _They'd want to be saved by a prince_ , he pouted as his mind wondered elsewhere, only to be snapped out of his fantasy to be brought back to reality by shuffles behind the curtain in front of him.

He was breathless as Hokuto stepped out. The man wore a sleek white jacket lined with gold hems and buttons. His knee-high boots were laced up to the top, leading up to his toned thighs clothed in fitting white pants. On his shoulders with golden pads, fringes of the same color dropped from them around the edges like delicate glass. A dark red cape with a faint floral lining flowed from his back like a waterfall, soft and elegant to complete the man's look.

Tomoya could feel his chest well up at stunning view. He had never seen anything so incredible before. "Ho-Hokuto-senpai, you look amazing!" He jumped from his seat, hopping up close to the man with sparkles in his eyes.

Hokuto hummed out a groan, scratching at his cheek in embarrassment as the boy circled around him and examined every inch of him. "It doesn't really suit me though. And this shirt is too tight," he eked out, pulling at the collar strangling him.

Tomoya was too taken away to listen properly. "It's like you're really a prince, Senpai." Then he sank down, sighing as loud as he could. "I wish I could be one too," he grimaced, heavy tension pulling his shoulders down hard.

"Oh, right, Hibiki had you play the princess, right?" He was oblivious to the boy's tenseness and loathing atmosphere, continuing on. "I saw that dress in the back. I think you'll look nice in it."

The Rabits member almost dropped to his knees in despair. Hearing that from Hokuto was too much. But the more he mulled over it, a thought came to his mind: a princess always get rescued by a prince. _Prince... wait..._ , he mused.

His head shot straight up from the floor, making Hokuto jump as the boy focused on him with determined eyes. _I'll get to be saved by Hokuto-senpai!_ , he squeezed his hands together in a prayer as the upperclassman nervously smiled at him in confusion.

_My Prince!_

✿

"Ow!"

Before he knew it, the floor came at him, and he would have met it face first had he not caught himself on his hands.

"Oopises, did you fall, Princess?"

The voice snickered at the end, and it was obvious to him that the man had tripped him on purpose.

He snapped in his head up in a rage, already in a bad mood, but his breath caught in his throat when he saw the five men standing around him like wolves at a fresh kill. 

"What's wrong?" The leader had a dangerous glint in his eyes, smirking when he noticed how tense the boy was. "Do you need help getting up, Princess?" he mockingly hissed out the last word, squatting down to Tomoya's eye level. "Though, it'd probably be easier for the both of us if you stayed down."

Tomoya flinched in fear as the man reached a hand out to him, squeezing his eyes shut and tucking his head down and away. _Someone...!_

"What are you guys doing?"

He whipped his head to the voice.

There, Wataru stood, the stage light streaming from the open curtain and scattering when it hit the man's armor. His eyes were downcast as he stepped closer to the group, whisking the drapery close and enveloping the backstage in darkness once more.

"Haha, well, if it isn't the perverted Shakespeare." The leader chuckled, standing back up. "Isn't it obvious? We're going to teach the princess a couple of 'princess games.'" He briefly glanced down at Tomoya to catch the boy's shocked expression before looking back up to see Wataru's.

Only, the man stood still, not a single change in his face, almost as if he hadn't heard a single word. The tension in the air had grown considerably as the silence continued to plague them.

"Is that so?" He finally spoke up, voice low and muffled with the muted chattering of the ongoing play.

His expression completely changed in an instant as a wide grin spread across his face. "Then let me help you!" He took a step back, grabbed at the sword at his waist, and unsheathed it, a piercing shriek grating all ears as metal slid against metal. Holding the weapon in front of him, he straightened his stance, waiting in the stunned silence before making his move.

"Hah!" He swung the blade towards the group, earning frightened frenzy from them as they scrambled back.

"Aah!" the leader yelped out at the sudden attack, tucking his head back to escape the sharp edge. "You're crazy!"

Wataru grinned at them, stepping forwards once more. "Heh, there's nothing crazy about a knight protecting the princess!" He swung his sword again, almost hitting the leader as the man tumbled backwards in fear.

Stumbling up from the floor in a hurried panic, he shouted his long string of obscenities before rushing off, his gang following close behind in a similar state of alarm.

Tomoya could only stare in shock the entire time, watching the frenzied scene from the floor.

"Hmph, cowards, who should do running of their legs as much as they do of their mouths." Wataru sheathed the blade, pridefully observing the out-of-sight commotion as the gang tripped over each other trying to get out. Finished with the amusement, he turned his attention back to Tomoya. "Princess, are you alright?"

The boy jumped at the question, still in his tense state. He turned his head away as the man walked up to him. "I'm fine..." _Everything's your fault anyways..._ , he thought quietly, picking himself up off the floor. He just as quickly fell back down, a throbbing pain resonating up his leg. "Ggh...!"

"Ah, Princess, are you okay?" Wataru knelt down as Tomoya moved his leg from under the skirt, revealing his already-swollen ankle. He could only guess that he must have sprained it when that gang leader had tripped him. "How troublesome. It seems as if you won't be able to stand properly. Shall I assist you up?" He offered out a hand.

Tomoya growled. "I can stand just fine. I don't need your help." He attempted standing up again, finding it even more difficult knowing that he was being watched. He stumbled back down with a groan of pain, having mistakenly put weight on his injured leg.

Sensing the boy's stubbornness, Wataru laughed loudly, invoking another growl, though this one being weak with embarrassment. "I'm happy," he spoke up, only smiling at the eye daggers sent flying his way, "that you're still as spirited as ever."

Tomoya bit his bottom lip in frustration, gripping the hem of the skirt. His nostrils burned as his eyes began to tear up; he looked like a fool, ridiculously garbed in a dress and wig, completely helpless on the floor, and being teased by the one person he hated the most. He wanted nothing more than to curl up and cry.

"Even after going through that, you can still find a way to yell at me." 

He looked up as the man continued on.

"And even in pain, you still want to stand on your own. You're really brave, Tomoya. Just like a prince."

The tears welled up, filling the brim of his eyes and almost flowing over. _Idiot_ , he thought, biting further into his lip and digging his nails into his palms as his entire vision blurred, _you're supposed to cheer me up, not make me want to cry more_.

But he was happy, unbelievably happy. 

"However! You're still dressed as a princess, and princesses are to be princess carried." The man stood halfway up to brush the dust from his knee and adjust the armor around his torso.

"Huh– Wah!" He yelped as Wataru suddenly swooped him up in his arms without warning. Instinctively, he cradled close to the upperclassman, wrapping his own arms around the man's neck in fear of falling. Though, immediately, he jumped back at the automatic reaction, remembering that it was Wataru who was carrying him, but he had slung his body back too far, almost falling backwards as he had feared.

"Whoa!" Wataru quickly lifted his arms up, pressing the boy closer to him.

Tomoya yelped again as he was suddenly pulled forwards, breath catching when he saw how dangerously close to the man's face he was now, even being able to feel the warmth on his breath when he spoke.

Wataru, surprised for a second at the same realization, smiled at him. "Gotcha."

Something warm flushed across his face, and even when he had turned away, even when they had returned safely back to the main stage, even when Wataru had finally put him down, the heat still remained, burning hot.

✿

The play had continued on without further incident, though Tomoya was forced to a sitting role as not to put any weight on his ankle. Luckily, the audience seemed not to have noticed.

The curtains were slung close as the cast recovered from their final bow and bouquets of flowers littered the stage floor.

Tomoya leaned back against the small chair the staff put out for him, exhausted from the performance. He sighed heavily, wanting to go home and sleep already.

"Are you alright? I heard a couple of hooligans were messing with you backstage," Hokuto glanced over to him, concern in his furrowed eyebrows.

"Ah...," Tomoya looked back at him, surprised at the sudden question. He thought back to the incident, a blushing smile flourishing across his cheeks. "Yeah, I'm fine," he looked ahead, seeing Wataru spinning around, light bouncing from his armor as the man tossed the thrown roses in the air with laughter. He resisted laughing along.

"Because a prince came to save me."


End file.
